sandy soil, 8 cm. for humus soil and 5 cm. for clay and loamy soil containing 

 lime. 



The last two kinds of soil suffer from dry weather so that shallow seed- 

 ing gives poor results. The experiments repeated later in the year (August 

 to September) gave for all kinds of soil a depth of 2.5 cm. as very unfavor- 

 able because of drought ; in this case clay soil was proved most favorable in 

 seeding at a depth of 10 cm. It is evident from this that delinite figures 

 must be accepted with great reserve. Ekkert' experimented with rye, 

 oats and barley, in loam, in pond slime (silt), in sandy soil and garden 

 earth. In seeding rye in separate wooden boxes no difference in the growth 

 of the plants was shown between 2 to 8 cm. of covering (as a result of uni- 

 form ventilation from all sides). In experiments in the open ground stem 

 formation seemed more favored by a lesser depth of the seed, yet this refers 

 more to the time of the appearance of the sprout than to its quality. Oats 

 and barley survive a deeper sowing than does rye. In siunmer a deeper sow- 

 ing of the seed is better than in winter. The minim.um covering for grain 

 m.ay be 1.5 to 2 cm. ; the maximum favorable for results is 6 cm. 



Later experiments of the same author- bring another important 

 factor into consideration which for the same soil acts as a modifier of the 

 favorable depth for sowing. The quality of the seed is at times decisive. 

 The quality of wheat seed, however, with which the first experiments were 

 made did not seem to have any influence on the capacity for germination but 

 the development of the young plant with equal depth of sowing was better, 

 the better the quality of the seed. With a medium 5 cm. depth of sowing 

 (experiments with sandy soil) all qualities gave the longest straw and the 

 longest heads. The relation of the w^eight of the grain yield to that of the 

 straw is lower, as the seed is poorer and the sowing deeper. Experiments 

 with barley confirmed the results obtained with wheat ; the less the depth of 

 sowing and the better the quality used for the same depth the earUer the 

 seed sprouted. The sum of the sprouted plants was no less with inferior 

 seed but the influence of the depth of sowing was so felt in this quality that 

 a shallow sowing gave a much longer straw. In general it must be said that 

 Ihe depth of sowing, conditions otherwise being thought equal, will influence 

 first of all those developmental stages which are connected with the early 

 stage. However, the quality of the grain depends upon the early develop- 

 ment in the number of sprouts and the length of the heads as well as the for- 

 mation of the young heads and is therefore influenced by the depth of the 

 sowing. On the other hand the quality of the harvested grain depends upon 

 the nutritive and weather conditions of the current year, and will therefore 

 be scarcely more influenced by the first development or inherited peculiarity 

 of the grain. 



1 Ekkert, Ueber Keimung, Bestocking- und Bewurzelung- der Getreidearten etc. 

 Inauguraldissertation. Leipzig- 1874. 



2 Ekkert, Kulturversuch mit Weizen und Gerste verschiodener Qualitat etc. 

 Fuhling's Landw. Zeit., 1875, Part 1; 1S76. Parts 1 and 2. 



